William S. Hart
Known for: Acting
Born: December 6, 1864
Died: June 23, 1946
Place of birth: Newburgh, New York, USA
The first Western superstar, the taciturn Hart actually was a successful Shakespearean actor who played Messala in “Ben-Hur” on Broadway in 1899 before riding the range in movies. A longtime fan of the Old West, Hart was friends with Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson. His film career began in 1914. After two supporting roles he gained fame as the lead in the feature-length western “The Bargain” shot on location at the Grand Canyon. Hart strove to make his westerns realistic with detailed attention played to costumes and props. Though Hart could be cast as a villain, he imbued all of his characters with honor and integrity. After making western shorts for producer Thomas Ince, he went to Famous Players-Lasky, which merged with Paramount Pictures in 1917. At Paramount he made such gritty feature westerns as “Square Deal Sanderson” and “The Toll Gate.” His star began to fade in the early 1920s when audiences grew tired of his moralistic Western tales. Not helping his career was his 1923 divorce from his wife, Winifred, who accused him of having two children by another woman. He made one last film, 1925’s “Tumbleweeds, which he financed himself. In 1939, the film was reissued this time with a prologue featuring a 75-year-old Hart shot on location at his ranch in Newhall talking about the West and his days in films. He died in 1946 at age 81. His home and ranch were turned into William S. Hart Park in Newhall.
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Filmography
86 movies · 0 TV shows, newest first
6.5
Decasia: The State of Decay
2002
7.5
It's Showtime
1976
6.4
The Great Chase
1962
7.0
The Legend of Rudolph Valentino
1961
7.0
Yesterday and Today
1953
10.0
Variety Time
1948
7.0
Hedda Hopper's Hollywood No. 1
1941
7.0
O'Malley of the Mounted
1936
6.0
The Hollywood Gad-About
1934
9.0
Stars of Yesterday
1931
8.5
The House That Shadows Built
1931
7.1
Show People
1928
6.1
Tumbleweeds
19257.5
Hello, 'Frisco
1924
10.0
Singer Jim Mckee
1924
9.0
Wild Bill Hickok
1923
9.0
Hollywood
1923
9.0
Travelin' On
1922
7.5
Three Word Brand
1921
5.4
The Whistle
1921
10.0
O'Malley of the Mounted
1921
6.0
White Oak
1921
6.5
The Testing Block
1920
6.5
The Cradle of Courage
1920
7.5
Sand
1920
5.7
The Toll Gate
1920
10.0
John Petticoats
1919
6.3
Wagon Tracks
1919
6.7
Square Deal Sanderson
1919
7.0
The Money Corral
1919
3.0
The Poppy Girl's Husband
1919
NR
Breed of Men
1919
NR
Branding Broadway
1918
NR
The Border Wireless
1918
NR
Riddle Gawne
1918
6.0
Shark Monroe
1918
NR
Selfish Yates
1918
8.0
A Lion of the Hills
1918
NR
The Tiger Man
1918
5.7
'Blue Blazes' Rawden
19189.0
Staking His Life
1918
6.0
Wolves of the Rail
1918
5.0
The Narrow Trail
1917
4.5
The Silent Man
1917
NR
The Cold Deck
1917
8.0
All-Star Production of Patriotic Episodes for the Second Liberty Loan
1917
6.0
Wolf Lowry
1917
NR
The Square Deal Man
1917
NR
The Desert Man
1917
NR
The Gun Fighter
1917
NR
Truthful Tulliver
1917
NR
The Devil's Double
1916
5.2
The Return of Draw Egan
1916
NR
The Dawn Maker
1916
5.0
The Captive God
1916
NR
The Apostle of Vengeance
1916
NR
The Primal Lure
1916
5.5
The Aryan
1916
NR
The Patriot
1916
6.1
Hell's Hinges
1916
NR
Between Men
1916
8.0
The Disciple
1915
5.0
Keno Bates, Liar
1915NR
Pinto Ben
1915
4.8
Knight of the Trail
1915
NR
The Ruse
1915
NR
Cash Parrish's Pal
1915
NR
Tools of Providence
1915
NR
The Conversion of Frosty Blake
1915
5.8
The Darkening Trail
1915
7.5
Bad Buck of Santa Ynez
1915
NR
The Man from Nowhere
1915
5.7
The Taking of Luke McVane
1915
4.4
On the Night Stage
1915
NR
The Roughneck
1915
5.0
The Sheriff's Streak of Yellow
1915
NR
The Grudge
1915
5.5
Mr. 'Silent' Haskins
1915NR
The Scourge of the Desert
19159.0
Grit
1915
NR
Two-Gun Hicks
1914
5.6
The Bargain
1914NR
Jim Cameron's Wife
1914NR
His Hour of Manhood
1914NR
In the Sage Brush Country
1914
4.4
Ben Hur
1907